21 
Another interesting marsupial from the same region is the 
Hairy-nosed Wombat (. Phascolomys latifrons). They are 
slow, sluggish animals, somewhat resembling the badger in 
appearance. They burrow in the ground and spend the day 
in strict retirement, coming out to feed only at night. In 
conformity with their natural habit, those in the Garden rarely 
awake until late in the afternoon. They feed altogether on 
vegetable substances, and delight in picking the tops out of a 
bunch of clover hay. 
Other species are the Common Wombat (. P . mitchelli ) and 
the Platyrhine Wombat (P. ursinus), both of which have 
been exhibited on previous occasions. 
The Common Opossum (. Didelphys marsupialis ) ranges 
from the latitude of southern Massachusetts to the lower part 
of Brazil, and is the only representative in North America of 
the marsupials. The opossums belong to the carnivorous 
branch of the order, although their diet is very varied, con¬ 
sisting of small birds, mammals, reptiles, and eggs, as well 
as of fruits, buds, and grain. 
They live generally in the hollow of a tree, where the 
female produces as many as fifteen young at a time, breeding 
several times in the course of a year. The characteristic 
pouch of the order is well developed in these animals. 
They have a very prehensile tail, and are also distinguished 
by the peculiarity of their dentition, which consists of ten 
incisors, two canines, and fourteen molars in the upper, and 
the same, with two incisors less, in the lower jaw, or fifty 
teeth in all. 
A number of opossums are found in South America, more 
or less resembling this species, though of smaller size. The 
collection has at times contained specimens of Derby’s 
Opossum (D. derbiana ), the Quica Opossum ( D . quica ), the 
Ashy Opossum (Z>. cinered ), and others. 
The Indian Fruit Bat (. Pteropus medius ), known also by 
the names of rousette bat and flying fox, are now rarely seen 
in zoological collections, as their importation into the United 
States is forbidden by Act of Congress. They belong to the 
order Chiroptera. They exist in large numbers in India and 
the neighboring islands, where they grow to a very large size, 
the expanded wings sometimes measuring four or five feet from 
